West Sussex Youth Cabinet: 17-Year-Old Crawley Student Addresses County Council

She may be only 17 years old but the chair of the West Sussex Youth Cabinet is determined to make sure the views and voices of the county’s young people are heard.

Iffat Rahman took over from Daisy Watson-Rumbold in April and is the first Muslim woman to sit in the top seat.

She said:

“The main thing I want to accomplish is ensuring young people are heard all over West Sussex – all sorts of young people, no matter who they are, no matter their identity.

“It’s so important that everyone is heard, that young people are recognised to have opinions and have a say.

“That is what I want to continue to do and continue to spread the message about.”

The cabinet is currently running four campaigns covering youth safety, racial equality, the environment, and health & wellbeing.

Iffat recently gave a report to West Sussex County Council’s cabinet on the progress of the campaigns, confidently addressing a room full of people, many of whom have been in politics longer than she has been alive.

Before becoming chair, she led the racial equality campaign and described the setting up of a racial equality ambassador scheme as one of the main achievements.

So far six schools have become involved – including Hazelwick, in Crawley, where Iffat is a student

The Youth Cabinet liaises with schools and talks to students about racism, encouraging them to educate their peers on the issues.

Members of the Youth Cabinet

The aim is to adapt their presentations to suit primary school children as well as the older ones.

Iffat said the scheme had proved beneficial so far, with youngsters telling her and her team how much they have learned.

She added:

“We believe that tackling prejudices from a young age, from school, will lead on to having a more equal society later on.”

The youth safety campaign combines the knife crime and homelessness campaigns which the Youth Cabinet previously ran.

The knife crime project proved particularly successful, it’s powerful message ‘If it’s a knife you choose, you’re destined to lose’ helping to earn it the runner-up spot in the National Crimebeat Awards in 2021.

Iffat and her team are determined that the new campaign will ensure that young people are not only kept fully informed about the measures in place to keep them safe but are also able to let people know which areas of safety are important to them.

The results of a survey to gather that information are expected by the end of the month.

Looking at their environmental work, the pandemic put paid to a number of planned beach cleans – but one finally went ahead in the summer.

On the hottest day of the year, the gang collected more than 300 pieces of litter at Worthing Beach.

Mental health plays a large part in the health & wellbeing campaign – especially the impact the pandemic had on young people.

The report to the county council’s cabinet said:

“The aim for this campaign is to educate and reduce the stigma around mental health disorders, introduce sign language into the curriculum, combat period poverty and ensuring young people can continue to eat nutritiously during the current cost of living crisis.”

That’s a lot of work for 51 young people aged 11-18.

But in Iffat they clearly have a strong leader.

She has been part of the Youth Cabinet since she was 14, giving up her place on the Youth Parliament to become chair.

Members of the Youth Cabinet

She said:

“I felt that being a leader and someone who was one of the local community was more worth my while.”

While lockdown may be over, Zoom calls are still the order of the day in some cases – mainly when the youngsters are studying for their mocks or taking exams.

Things are certainly easier for Iffat and her team. They get to meet up. During the pandemic, the members of the Youth Cabinet only met each other twice.

It’s a testament to their hard work and determination that they achieved so much in such circumstances.

As for addressing the ‘grown-up’ cabinet, Iffat said she absolutely loved it, adding that, while it pushed her out of her comfort zone, she felt that she proved herself.

She is determined to build on the relationship the young people have with the councillors. Indeed she already holds regular meetings with Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children and young people.

As for the future, Iffat has until February 2024 to tick off things from her ‘to do’ list.

She said: “I want to continue the work the Youth Cabinet has been doing but also create a legacy of young people who are empowered to speak.”

Then comes the task of preparing the net generation to step into the footsteps of her and her team, covering everything from chair to treasurer and everything in between.

While Iffat said the Youth Cabinet did have vacancies, she recognised that that may not be the route everyone wants to take when making their voices heard.

She encouraged youngsters to take part in surveys and join schemes such as the beach cleaning if they want to make a difference.

She added:

“Getting involved in youth politics doesn’t necessarily have to be through [the Youth Cabinet].

“You can do it a million different ways, whether you’re on your phone sharing posts, whether you’re creating posts, whether you’re going out and protesting.

“The main message is if there is something a young person is passionate about and wants to share with the world their opinion on it, they should not be stopped – they should be encouraged and empowered to be able to do so.”